The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) annually organizes a one-day Research Workshop on an important and timely topic related to clinical nutrition. The purpose of the 2002 conference is to bring together the important leaders of research in the field related to the chosen topic. These leaders present formal talks relating the present state of basic research and knowledge and relate this research and knowledge to the practice of clinical nutrition and treatment of disease. The objective of the 2002 conference is to summarize the current state of knowledge concerning the roles of functional foods both in maintaining health and treating disease processes. One definition of a functional food is "any food or ingredient that has a positive impact on an individual?s health, physical performance or state of mind, in addition to its nutritive value." This conference will review eight specific aspects of functional foods. The Research Workshop is widely publicized in advance with the intent of drawing interested clinicians, basic researchers, and clinician/scientists. The Workshop is specifically oriented to attract younger researchers and clinicians. Discussion periods follow all talks by speakers, and interaction of the participants and speakers is strongly supported and encouraged. This year, the research workshop will be an integral part of Nutrition Week, whose mission is to enhance the understanding and collaboration among nutrition specialists and raise the profile of nutrition within the health care community and general public. Modeled after the highly successful Digestive Disease Week (DDW), Nutrition Week will be a combined nutrition education effort sponsored by the American College of Nutrition, American Society for Clinical Nutrition, American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity. It is an important gathering for information sharing, professional networking, and service and product promotion. Nutrition Week provides an opportunity for us to reach by far our largest audience for the Research Workshop, and the highly-relevant topic of functional foods combined with our expert group of speakers predicts an extremely successful symposium.